


you don't forget

by someassemblingrequired



Category: Golden Boy
Genre: Drabble, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-27
Updated: 2013-02-27
Packaged: 2017-12-03 18:49:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/701485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/someassemblingrequired/pseuds/someassemblingrequired
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You never forget the first time you’re shot at. And you don’t forget any of the bodies.</p>
<p>There’s a rush in his ears, a dizzying, crushing whistle that seems never ending (or is that just the whizzing of bullets?), and he curls his arm protectively around his little sister, because she’s only a kid and he’s 12, which means he’s the big man here. Or at least, he argues to himself, he has to be right now.</p>
            </blockquote>





	you don't forget

> _You never forget the first time you’re shot at. And you don’t forget any of the bodies._

There’s a rush in his ears, a dizzying, crushing whistle that seems never ending (or is that just the whizzing of bullets?), and he curls his arm protectively around his little sister, because she’s only a kid and he’s 12, which means he’s the big man here. Or at least, he argues to himself, he has to be right now.

Because Agnes is the last good thing he has in his life, and between the stealing and making sure that she gets to school, he knows that he’s the only chance she has too. No one is looking out for two rough-and-tumble kids with an absent dad and a coked up mom. Not where they come from, anyway. They’re all each other has, and she might be too young to understand it, but he sure as hell isn’t. He knows what he has to do to take care of her.

And right now, that means pulling her out of bed with him (does a mattress on the floor count as a bed? He likes to think it does, even if the blanket barely covers the two of them), and tugging her into the closet. Because Pops is home, and he brought trouble home with him ( _again_ ) and that can’t mean anything good.

He can hear their mother shouting from the kitchen (which doubles as the living room, and Mom’s most frequent resting place), and there’s the tell tale tinkling of shattering bottles (which is never a good sign), and then there’s gunfire, which splinters the door and embeds itself in the wall, next to the already-broken window. 

Walter is pulling Agnes into the closet before she’s even fully awake (as awake as a kid can be) and he’s got his arm wrapped around her head, pressing her against his skinny ass torso, trying desperately to shield her from the noise. She’s tucked against him, half asleep, and he’s muttering words he remembers from a book of fairytales his teacher read to him in kindergarden.

Eventually, the crashing stops. There’s a thump, and some familiar shrieking from his mother, and the crack of a hand hitting flesh. A broken sob, and then the very,  _very_  telling grunt of his father lifting something heavy. The apartment door opens, and there’s a few moments of silence (punctuated only by his fathers grunts of exertion), and then the door closes again.

And then it’s over. He gently tugs Agnes back to their shared mattress, and she curls against him, and he hugs her like any good, protective older brother would. Because he’s got her, and she’s got him, and he’ll be damned if he’s not the best chance she’s got.

 

**Author's Note:**

> So, I watched the pilot of Golden Boy tonight, and there was a scene about 35 minutes in between Walter (Clark) and his sister, Agnes, that really hit me as indicative of their relationship; Clark always looking out for Agnes, no matter what the situation, because he's that typical, overprotective older brother. And I literally just saw the show an hour ago, but I'm really liking it so far. So this happened.


End file.
